Cardiff City are out of the FA Cup after a 2-1 defeat to a rampant Fulham side at Cardiff City Stadium.

In truth, the scoreline flattered the Bluebirds, who struggled to gain any foothold in the match despite Pilkington's early goal.

Goals from Ryan Sessegnon and Stefan Johansen saw Fulham into the hat for the fourth round.

Pilkington's early free-kick took a wicked deflection to leave Fulham keeper Marcus Bettinelli stranded, but that was as good as it got Cardiff.

The lead lasted only five minutes as a Fulham move down the right wing led to a cut back for Johansen, which he duly struck past Brian Murphy.

The winning goal came fifteen minutes later, as another slick passing move from Fulham led to confusion in the Cardiff box, and Sessegnon was on hand to tap in the rebound from two yards out.

Here's how the Cardiff City players rated...

Brian Murphy 6

Did all that could be asked of him without excelling. Not at fault for either goal, but badly let down by those in front of him on too many occasions.

Murphy was not at fault for the goals (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

Joe Bennett 3

Dreadfully exposed for both the Fulham goals and was given a tough lunchtime thanks to the quick feet of Ryan Fredericks. Fulham gave him very little rest and he seemed to be regularly caught out of position.

Sean Morrison 5

A tough day at the office for the skipper. A threat as always in the opposition box from set pieces but failed to command the Cardiff box with the same authority. Often bailed out by the marauding Bamba.

Jazz Richards 5

Largely anonymous on his first start since returning from injury but didn't disgrace himself against a supremely impressive Fulham attack. Good to see him back and fit at the very least.

Sol Bamba 7 (Star Man)

On a day when Cardiff's defence were terrorised at times, Bamba stood up and took control. A number of crucial last minute tackles, as well as the vocal leader of the defence. The crowd appreciated his commitment.

Bamba stood tall in defence (Image: Tom Martin/WALES NEWS SERVICE)

Greg Halford 6

As expected for a man as experienced as Halford, he showed little sign of debut nerves. However his roaming role in front of the defence left him lost on occasions and he struggled to make any impact before making way after 70 minutes.

Joe Ralls 6

Solid performance from the midfielder, and did well to create himself some chances on the edge of the Fulham box on a few occasions. Unable to drag his team mates along with him, a frustrating 90 minutes.

Anthony Pilkington 5

Started brightly enough and showed good energy in the opening 20 minutes as his deflected free-kick gave Cardiff the lead. Faded badly though, and did little to suggest he should be in the side ahead of Zohore or Hoilett going forward.

Kadeem Harris 6

Showed good bursts of pace to leave his marker in his wake from time to time, but another that faded as the match went on. Increasingly asked to latch onto aimless long balls punted forward.

Emyr Huws 5

A chance wasted for the Wales international. Trusted in the centre of midfield, Huws failed to pick out the killer pass and struggled to get the side moving forward at any pace. Cardiff were slow and predictable as a result.

(Image: PA)

Rickie Lambert 4

A frustrating day for the target man on what was a rare start in recent weeks. Struggled to hold the ball up and was given little support as Cardiff became increasingly pushed back by the fluid Fulham attack.